50 Ideas for Light Brown Hair with Highlights and Lowlights

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It may sound counterintuitive, but a darker base does help highlights look brighter and more prominent. So, if your hair is naturally medium to light brown, consider enhancing the shade with both lighter and darker tones to create a statement look. Here are trending examples of light brown hair with highlights and lowlights that will leave you flowing with transformation ideas.

Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights are a spice of your dark brown or light brown hairstyles. Even the simplest haircut looks exquisite with the right chosen and done highlights. They will bring out your eye color and skin tone, add body to your hair and look stunning whether you wear your hair lose or style it in sophisticated dos.

Basically highlights are at least 2 tones lighter than your natural color. When they are done all through the head, these are full highlights. Partial highlights are done more locally, from the crown towards the bangs, for instance, or mainly for side tresses. Sometimes, lowlights are added for the 3-tone dyeing. Lowlights are normally at least 2 tones darker than your natural hair. To make highlights or/and lowlights on brown hair colorists use either traditional foil techniques for precise streaking or the balayage method when dyes are applied with special paddles.

The latest hair trends suggest natural looks and subtle transitions of hair colors and shades, which make your basic color more radiant, accentuate your eyes and skin tone. Pale skin and soft brown hair, for example, go well with highlights just 1 shade lighter. However, you may also opt for more contrasting bolder solutions.

1. Creamy Ash Blonde Highlights

Don’t want to go fully blond? Try out one of our favorite color ideas. Ash blonde is a step between blonde and brunette and is a nice, subtle change. Hair with highlights is always more multidimensional than monochromatic locks.

2. Honey Highlights on Chocolate Base

Lighten up your brown locks with cool ash highlights. They lift the color and give your locks gorgeous brightness. Layers will help to balance the cut even further, adding your hairstyle texture and dimension.

@cristen_smith

3. Golden Blonde Colormelt

Blend highlights and lowlights for a hairstyle with endless depth. The colormelt is stunning and perfect for those who are noncommittal. You get the best of both worlds with a little brown and a little blonde. No need to choose when the hues complement each other so well.

@cristen_smith

4. Dark Blonde Balayage

Blonde highlights look delicate and feminine. The long streaks of honey extend through the length of the wavy, neck-length bob and enhance the effect of the coy and flirtatious peek-a-boo bangs.

@_julieanna

5. Light Caramel Balayage

Your swoopy shoulder-length waves will glow even brighter if you dress them up with some rich caramel highlights. The side-parted, peek-a-boo bangs add a hint of Hollywood glamour.

@michelepritchardhair

6. Subtle Blonde Highlights

The soft, barely-there blonde streaks in this bob are totally chic. Subtle highlights are a great option when you want partial highlights, or you can go all out and have some highlights in the under layers as well. Because every stylist has different ideas of subtlety, you’ll do best if you bring in a picture.

@modernsalon

7. Sun-Kissed Sandy Brown

Some of the best highlight ideas for light brown hair are all based on achieving a natural look. Think of this style as the recreation of the highlights you used to get as a kid after long days spent outside. With inspiration like that, you’ll achieve a youthful style.

@hairluvbytiffany

8. Golden Beige Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights on light brown hair are a big opportunity for creativity. You can do whatever you want. This style combines the balayage technique with stand-out streaks for a super pretty, fun style. With the blonde skewing on the golden side and the brown showing mild tones of red, this look is for those with a warm skin tone.

@shereeknobel_bixiecolour

9. Glossed Caramel Bronde

The best way to add volume to your locks is to embrace this wavy hairstyle. Strategically placed highlights provide an additional boost of dimension, making your hair shine with caramel blonde tones.

@thenewenglandstylist

10. Light Brown to Blonde Balayage

This light brown hair look is perfection. You can’t go wrong with these flattering tones and textures. Ask your stylist for painted on (or balayage) highlights that are brighter near the face. Then have her style it with modern loose waves.

@maeipaint

11. 90s Blonde Highlights

Partial highlights are typically placed through the top layer of the hair off the part, so that they fall over the rest of the hair. The darker hair underneath with the blond on top makes for a sassy look. Light brown hair color can be known for skewing “mousy,” – this look is anything but.

@salonlebeau

12. Caramel and Ashy Highlights

The caramel and ashy tones in this hair color are so pretty! The addition of just a few thin blonde highlights makes it super fresh and modern. To keep the look contemporary, go for a choppy bob with no bangs. For a city chic look style it with bendy waves.

@prettylittleombre

13. Blonde Ribbons and Toffee Brown Lowlights

The balayage mixed with babylights oozes beachy vibes, and the loose waves emphasize it even more. The lived-in look is perfect for someone who is laid-back and a big fan of effortless style.

@soraverly

14. Dimensional Cool Blonde Balayage

Wear a beachy hairstyle all year round with a shoulder-length lob and sun-kissed highlights. The bright blonde streaks that meander throughout the cut enhance the appearance of deeper, chunkier waves and the darker roots keep the color looking naturally bleached.

@eversonfernandes_

15. Light Brown to Blonde Melt

Get a totally beachy look by creating gentle waves using a large barrel curling iron. Part your hair to the side to create lengthy bangs that blend easily into the mane. Keep your natural darker hair color mostly at the roots and add highlights throughout. Or, on the contrary, use lowlights to add deepness to your naturally light brown hair – the result will amaze you!

@ilonamusaelyan

16. Blonde Balayage on Light Golden-Brown Base

The caramel bronde balayage has the perfect combination of highlights and lowlights, and when it’s parted in the center, the bright blonde bangs act as an ideal face frame. The versatile, shoulder-length hairstyle features sharply cut choppy ends and the best length to be easily styled into a ponytail or a bun.

@samanthacusicklondon

17. Toffee Highlights and Chocolate Lowlights

Your super-long, chocolate-colored hair can appear sleeker and shinier with light brown highlights with a metallic, bronze sheen. The oversized knot in the back shows off the nuances of shades and balances out the large loose waves on the bottom.

@glayda

18. Toffee with Golden Blonde Babylights

Golden highlights pair well with brown locks because not only is the color gorgeous, but it helps to emphasize the sheen of your locks. That frizz-free shine is what gives hair its healthy glow. Plus, it’s easy to maintain with this medium-length cut.

@chrisgreenehair

19. Mid-Shaft-To-Ends Ash Blonde Balayage

A balayage already delivers effortless style with its luscious mix of colors. What makes it even better is when your hair grows out, with the dark roots your hairstyle gains more contrast and gets chicer. So, you can skip your routine six-week touchups, which is also healthier for your locks.

@romeufelipe

20. Blended Golden Highlights and Lowlights

The lighter shades bring a subtle contrast and give more definition to the texture of the cut. The loose waves are really pronounced because of the multiple tones woven throughout.

@cristen_smith

21. Espresso Brown with Cinnamon Highlights

Long dark brown hair with blonde highlights can be too sharp for women who prefer a conservative style. Why not spice your brown waves with a more muted rusty cinnamon shade? The soft edges and a glossy finish help keep your hair looking healthy and thick.

@petermenezes

22. Thin Beige Highlights

Thin highlights blend seamlessly into the hair, which makes them a good choice for someone seeking a more natural look. You only have to go a couple shades lighter, and that is more than enough to make an impact.

@richiemiao

23. Bright Blonde Contour Highlights

Have fun with your balayage and highlights. You don’t have to stick to the ordinary ombre-inspired look. Have the lightest pieces around your face to brighten and draw attention to it. The higher the contrast between the highlights and your natural color, the bolder the style.

@romeufelipe

24. Caramel Bronde with Shadow Roots

The latest hair color trends feature lots of darker and warmer blonde shades, with golden, honey, caramel and blends like old money blonde topping the lists. Application, gradient, and matching with the natural base color are on the level “impeccable” here.

@romeufelipe

25. Ash Brown and Caramel Hair

Nice and toasty, the honey-hued highlights warm up this medium bob. The different shades make the texture really stand out. The waves pop thanks to the darker base and lighter pieces throughout.

@mmseportfolio

26. Tawny with Blonde Balayage

Guaranteed to look good in pictures, the balayage bob is trending for good reason. The angular cut is flattering, while the color combo is mesmerizing. When you’re headed out in the AM, give your locks a tousle with your favorite product to create that messy-but-cute style.

@penniepannavalee

27. Honey Light Brown with Blonde Streaks

Warm and natural, this is one of the most popular options when it comes to highlights for light brown hair. Starting with your base color, your stylist will work with caramel highlights to create an even, flattering splash of color enhancement.

@gina.devine

28. Pearl Highlights and Auburn Lowlights

Even if your dye job is low contrast, hair with lowlights always gets the required depth and brings out highlights. This balayage is a true masterpiece and a go-to solution for skin with neutral and warm undertones.

@hellobalayage

29. Creamy Blonde Highlights on Hazel Base

This style can easily have you doing a double take! Chunkier highlights might not be as natural but they do create an almost sun-bleached look, like you’re fresh off the beach. And of course, the loose waves complement that So-Cal vibe.

@beautiquebynicole

30. Chunky White Highlights and Lowlights

Ditch your homegrown light brown hair color for something much more dramatic when you combine a very bright blonde color with a deep dark brown hue. This stark contrast is especially lovely on longer hair, where there’s more room to show off the artistic blend of light meeting dark.

@hairby.ashleypac

31. Chocolate and Caramel Balayage

The thick luscious waves of light brown hair drop to the shoulders and cascade towards the back. The dark chocolate-brown base color is beautifully enhanced by a caramel-blonde balayage that makes even the finest hair appear thicker and more voluminous.

@sadiejcre8s

32. Light Honey Brown Hair with Dark Roots

A lot of times when someone thinks of balayage, they think of something very trendy. This golden hairstyle, however, proves that minimalism and subtlety can be current too. It’s important that when you try out a new trend, you find a way to make it fit with your personal style.

@beautyandbalayage

33. Milk Chocolate Root Melt

Highlights on a brown base are undeniably stunning, especially when enhanced with the added texture of feathered layers. Honey blonde tones beautifully harmonize any skin tone, giving that summer girl vibes.

@dvcolour

34. Bronze Brown to Honey Color Melt

Your long blonde waves will appear richer and juicier with deep caramel highlights. The chest-length cut features textured ends contributing to the sense of depth and volume. A light tousle at the top gives the style a natural and carefree vibe.

@mane_ivy

35. Thin Toffee Highlights

Liven up your brown hair with a pop of honey blonde in strategically placed locations. If you have an angled haircut, you will want the color to follow these lines as well – accentuating the longer pieces as well as the rear of the style.

@constancerobbins

36. Light Ash Brown Hair with Platinum Highlights

Highlights for light brown hair come in muted tones that range between ashy browns and golden blondes. Show off those delicate shades in the longer cut that hits the upper back. The center part allows the lighter shades to frame and brighten your face.

@beckym_hair

37. Bronde Hair with Highlights and Lowlights

With this look, there are so many highlights that you don’t know where the base color ends and where the highlighting begins. The result is one of the most beautiful light hair colors we’ve ever seen. To maintain the perfect toning over time, a deep purple shampoo will work wonders.

@saloncouture_ny

38. Medium Brown Balayage

Experienced stylists know that understated looks can be the most difficult ones to create. It requires restraint and control to balayage hair in a way that’s natural but also show-stopping. The key is face-framing highlights that are more prominent than the highlights throughout.

@romeufelipe

39. Cool Toned Highlights

Highlights and lowlights twisting together in loose curls? Umm, yes please! The brown lowlights are more prominent on the top and back of the head, while the blonde tones stand out more in the front. So it’s like ombre, but not quite. Stunning, for sure.

@habitsalon

40. Sandy and Ash Blonde Highlights

In the mood for cooler tones? Ashen highlights are the way to go. They offer your hair a softer color, while still feeling natural. The balayage is subtle, but that doesn’t stop it from giving your light brown hair color endless dimension.

@cristen_smith

41. Platinum Blonde Highlights and Lowlights

If you’re looking for something different but don’t want to spend a fortune, opt for highlights or lowlights. They tend to be more affordable than a new solid color, and they have the added advantage of brightening your face and boosting dimension of curls.

@ms_robinita

42. Bronze Brown Highlights

If you’re going from blonde to brunette, a balayage is one way to hold onto some of the lighter hues you love. It will be a less dramatic transformation, that doesn’t skimp on style. Plus, the mix of blonde and brown makes the hair multidimensional.

@cristen_smith

43. Caramel and Honey Balayage

A choppy haircut is an ideal style for those who have fine hair but don’t want to deal with a ton of maintenance. Sporting highlights that lean more toward a caramel color will really make your face glow and your new cut shine.

@dannyrichohair

44. Caramel Money Pieces

A mix of deep side parting and asymmetrical wavy layers creates an effortlessly chic look that’s both versatile and stylish. Spiced with face-framing highlights, this style looks ultra-trendy and dynamic.

@gustavomigli

45. Dark Brown Lowlights and Highlights

Love to curl your hair but want something a bit different? Go with some lowlights and highlights that enhance your base color instead of hiding it. The lowlights will add a distinctive richness to your hair, while the highlights will really accentuate curls and layers.

@alexisbutterflyloft

46. Cool and Neutral Blonde Balayage

The balayage is known for its cool-factor. You have a lot to play around and experiment with to make the style feel unique to you. While warm and golden hues are very popular choices, a neutral blonde shade might be better suited to your complexion.

@paigeweir

47. Light Brown Ombre Balayage

Emphasize the sleekness of your long mane with a warm balayage. The highlights elongate the look of your tresses, while the long locks elongate the face. So, that makes this cut as flattering as it’s stylish.

@maeipaint

48. Milky Brown Highlights

A sophisticated cool-toned shade gives these back-skimming locks a beautiful movement. Thicker face-framing highlights illuminate the face and create the illusion of a lighter hair color without giving you any added damage or maintenance.

@kristen.lumiere

49. Blonde Balayage with Bright Face-Framing

Layered and slightly feathered, the hairstyle pictured, is a chic example of taking a classic style and making it feel fresh. The loose curls and face-framing highlights are the key.

@ninezeroone

50. Brown Sugar Brunette Babylights

The way highlights accent the curls creates the illusion that the hair is even shinier than it actually is. So, you don’t have to reach for product and wave your tresses trying to create that healthy-looking glow. In fact, the strategic use of layers will make your cut feel lighter and look fuller.

@jayrua_glam

Well, thanks to these pictures we have provided you with a bunch of ideas on highlights for light and dark brown hair. Hopefully, you’ll choose something inspiring for your fresh spring look and feel more confident when explaining in a salon what you’d like to get as a result.

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